A coaching clinic for clay target shooters was run recently by 2 time Olympic Gold medallist, Michael Diamond. The coaching clinic was held at the Boorowa Gun Club on the weekend of the 6th and 7th October 2018.

So often in regional Australia people have to travel to the larger towns and centres and it is a testament to the hard work of the Boorowa Gun Club Committee and local volunteers that Boorowa has an excellent local Gun Club well equipped and able to host an event such as this.

One of the main points of the clinic was to encourage and develop junior shooters under the age of 18. The future of various sports lies with the younger generation. To have a world champion here to inspire and encourage these youngsters really was marvellous. The Boorowa Gun Club would like to take this opportunity to publicly thank Mr Michael Diamond for running his coaching clinic, generously donating his time for the junior shooters free of charge.

The first day started with shooting test patterns on a white painted pattern board to ascertain that the shooters had a correct gun fit and technique for mounting the gun, and that their shot patterns were hitting the targeted part of the board. The next part of the coaching clinic, the shooters were split into 2 squads and got straight into shooting some targets. The shooters were then watched without comment for the first 25 targets. Michael made no assumptions about anyone’s ability or lack thereof and would give a debrief at the end of every round. If he detected technical issues with someone’s shooting he would approach them on an individual basis to suggest improvements/changes.

The beginning of the second day the shooters were captured on camera, later in the day they were shown some footage in slow motion of what was being done right and also what could be improved upon. This proved to be a very useful tool, somewhat reminiscent of recording a snorer while asleep and presenting them with the evidence in the morning.

Michael’s teaching method proved to be effective and he was a very encouraging and approachable coach. On many occasions throughout the clinic, he would ask for questions, pull people quietly aside and give suggestions on technical aspects of their shooting. There are many aspects to shooting as with any sport and Michael covered most if not all of them, including mental preparedness, focus and diet.

The insights and wealth of knowledge that Michael shared was greatly appreciated by all the participants. There is a possibility of a future coaching clinic in March of 2019 so if you or anyone you know is interested have them contact the Boorowa Gun Club and register your interest today.